Length–weight relationships of 12 marine fish species from the Pacific coast of Guatemala associated with small‐scale fisheries

Abstract

The length–weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for 12 fish species. The species were collected monthly from the commercial catch of small-scale fisheries using gillnets (mesh size 7.6–15.2 cm, length 200–1,000 m, 6–48 hr of operation during the day) and longlines (surface and bottom, 300 hooks, sardine bait, operation during the day) in the period October 2017 to July 2018 along the Pacific coast of Guatemala. Most values for the parameter (b) of the length-weight equations were within the commonly expected range (2.50–3.50) except for two species: Bagre pinnimaculatus (2.22) and Menticirrhus panamensis (3.56). All values for the coefficient of determination (r2) were above .95 and thus the estimates can be considered reliable. Besides novel LWRs we provide for some species estimates which include a new TLmax not yet involved of any LWR studies.